Buggy-body.



J. T. BARNETT.

BUGGY BODY.

APPLIOATION FILED 001:24, 1910A 1,003,689. Patented sept. 19,1911.

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JACKSON T. BARNETI, OF COLUMBIANA, ALABAMA.

BUGG-Y-BODY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

Application led October 24, 1910. Serial No. 588,831.

' an improved extension and bracing plate for the sides and corners ofbuggy bodies, which plate, without being heavier than the present formof bracing plates, will have the important and additional function of soeffectively bracing the side boards that their tendency to break away atthe corners, due to the weight of the seat which causes them to springdown in the middle, will be prevented. At the same time the plate is soarranged as to brace the corners, making it possible to dispense withthe corner irons in general use.

A further object of my invention is to turn up the outsidefedge of theextension plates so as to form a bead which overlaps and clamps againstthe side and end boards, thereby serving to both protect their bottomcorners from injury and their painted faces from scratches, and givingthe buggy body a much more ornamental and attractive appearance.

My invention further comprises the details of construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter more particularly described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a side view of a buggy body provided with my improvedextension plate. Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view along theline w-m of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a corner of the buggybody broken away. Fig. 4 illustrates the form of bracing iron now used.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar arts throughout thedrawings.

y invention is adapted to be applied to any form of buggy or carriagebody where the sideboard, instead of resting upon the bottom or sill,overlaps the bottom or sill and is attached to the side edge thereof,its bottom edge standing in substantially the same plane as the bottomof the sill. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawingsin which a buggy body is shown providedwith side sills l to the sidefaces of which the side boards 2 are fastened by screws 3 in theordinary manner. These side boards 2 are connected to the end boards l,screws or bolts being used to connect their adjacent ends to a cornerpost 5 which rests upon an end sill of the body.

According to the present practice a rather thick and heavy bracing ironin the form of a narrow strip l0 is screwed to the bottom face of theside sill but is not in position to directly support the side board.

According to my invention, instead of having a narrow and thick late, Iprovide a relatively thin and wide p ate (3 which eX- tends under andalong the bottom faces of the end and side sills and under the bottomedges of the side and end boards and is bent upwardly and then over andagainst the side of the side and end boards, referably so as to form abead or ornamenta metal rib 7.

To simplify manufacture and shipment the plates are formed in lengthscorresponding to the lengths of the sido and end boards and applied sothat their end portions 8 overlap under the corner posts and a screw orbolt 9 can be passed through such overlapping portions of both plates,thereby securely fastening them to the buggy body. As shown in Fig. 3,the bead edges 7 of the plates make a close clamping joint which holdsthe corners of the buggy tightly together and braces them in the samemanner that the corner irons do that are now in general use.

I have found by long experience in repairing buggy bodies that theweight on the buggy acts on the side boards causing the sills of thebody to yield and bend down at their centers which strains the cornerjoints of the buggy causing the side boards to crack and the end jointsto open. By the use of my extension plate I find that withoutincreasing'thc weight `or cost of the buggy, I am enabled to so bracethe side and end boards of the buggy that their' tendency to break awayat the corners and to crack will be effectively prevented.

Another' advantage of my extension plate is that it not only greatlyincreases the strength of the buggy body but it gives it a superiorfinished and ornamental appearance and effectively guards and protectsthe side and end boards from being scratched lCO and injured, andconceals the screws or fastenings used to connect the side and endboards to the sills. The plate is made preferably of the Width of thesill so that its strength underlies the point of connectionof the floorboards to the side sills. It would `be peculiarly applicable tosupporting the floor boards Where they Were fastened to the undersideinstead of the top side of the sills by being rabbeted thereto accordingto a practice which frequently obtains noW in buggy body construction.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A buggy body having side sills, side boards connected thereto, endboards connected to said side boards at the corners of the buggy body,and means to brace the sills and protect the side boards from breakingaway from their corner oints, comprising a metallic plate which extendsfrom end to end of each side sill and is fastened to the underfacethereof, said plates being relatively thinner and Wider than the usualbrace plates and being fastened to said sills so that they projectbeyond same and support the bottom edge of the side boards throughouttheir length, screws to fasten the side boards to the sills, and a beadformed by rolling over the outer edge `of said plates, g which bead isadapted to protect the bottom edge of the side boards and conceal saidscrews, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a buggy body having side and end sills and sideand end side boards which are attached to the out-side faces of thesills, the bottom edges of the side boards standing substantially on alevel With the bottom of the sills, and means to connect the side andend boards at the corners of the buggy body, of means to brace the sideboards and corner joints comprising metal extension plates which areconnected to the underface of said side sills and extend from end to endthereof, said plates being j relatively thinner than the usual braceplates and adapted to extend transversely across the bottom of the silland the bottom edge of the side board which rests on the plate and isdirectly supported thereby, the outer end of said plate beyond the sideboard being bent A'upwardly and inwardly against the side `faces of saidside boards to form a bead Which protects said boards and braces them,

j substantially as described.

In testimony Awhereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of tivosubscribing Witnesses.

JACKSON T. BARNETT.

Vitnesses:

WV. B. BROWNE, JOHN lV. LAPsLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

